The British government has laid out a blueprint for groundbreaking new laws that would regulate social media, search, messaging, and even file-sharing platforms for content found to cause "online harm." That umbrella term includes content relating to sexual abuse, violence, hate speech and terrorism, self-harm, and underage sexting.

The proposals, dubbed the world's "first online safety laws" in an emailed statement, coincide with global pressure on US tech firms to prevent terrorist propaganda, hate speech, and depictions of self-harm from appearing on their sites. It also comes at a time when Silicon Valley leaders like Mark Zuckerberg are calling for regulation.

Facebook, YouTube, and the more niche 8chan came in for severe criticism just last month when the Christchurch, New Zealand, attacker livestreamed the shootings at two mosques. In February, Instagram banned "extreme" images of self-harm after the suicide of the British teenager Molly Russell.

Codes of practice that might require tech firms to minimize the spread of misinformation during elections.

A framework to help tech firms build safety features into their apps from the start.

A media-literacy strategy to help people recognize misinformation and malicious behaviors.

"The internet can be brilliant at connecting people across the world — but for too long these companies have not done enough to protect users, especially children and young people, from harmful content," British Prime Minister Theresa May said in a statement.

"That is not good enough, and it is time to do things differently. We have listened to campaigners and parents, and are putting a legal duty of care on internet companies to keep people safe. Online companies must start taking responsibility for their platforms, and help restore public trust in this technology."

Big tech wants more detail about how the new laws will actually work

The proposals are still some way off becoming legislation, and what actually ends up becoming law may look quite different from Monday's policy paper after further industry and public consultation.

"The internet industry is committed to working together with government and civil society to ensure the UK is a safe place to be online," the Internet Association's UK executive director, Daniel Dyball, said in a statement. "But to do this, we need proposals that are targeted and practical to implement for platforms both big and small.

"We also need to protect freedom of speech and the services consumers love. The scope of the recommendations is extremely wide, and decisions about how we regulate what is and is not allowed online should be made by Parliament."

Coadec, a group that lobbies on behalf of startups, said overly strict regulation could punish smaller firms that don't have the money and clout of Facebook and Google.

"Everyone, including British startups, shares the goal of a safer internet — but these plans will entrench the tech giants, not punish them," Coadec's executive director, Dom Hallas, said.

"The vast scope of the proposals means they cover not just social media but virtually the entire internet — from file sharing to newspaper comment sections. Those most impacted will not be the tech giants the government claims they are targeting, but everyone else. It will benefit the largest platforms with the resources and legal might to comply — and restrict the ability of British startups to compete fairly."